Turkish PM accuses Israel of engineering Egyptian coup

Erdogan says he has evidence proving Jewish state’s involvement in removal of Mohammad Morsi from power

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks at the opening plenary of the World Economic Forum on the Middle East, North Africa and Eurasia in Istanbul, 2012 (photo credit: CC-BY-SA World Economic Forum/ Norbert Schiller, flickr)

Israel was behind the early July military coup in Egypt, which saw the democratically elected Islamist president Mohammad Morsi removed from power, and Turkey has the evidence to prove it, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan alleged on Tuesday.

“Now the West starts to say democracy is not the ballot box or not only the box, but we know that the ballot box is the people’s will,” Erdogan said. “This is what has been implemented in Egypt. Who is behind this? Israel. We have evidence,” the Turkish prime minister added.

Asked to comment about Erdogan’s statement, an Israeli government official responded with one word: “Nonsense.”

Turkey had backed Morsi and has strongly condemned his removal from power by the Egyptian military and the subsequent bloodshed and civil strife. Last week, Istanbul recalled its ambassador to Egypt in protest, and Egypt’s interim government followed suit by recalling the Egyptian ambassador to Turkey, effectively cutting off diplomatic relations between the two countries.

Turkey and Israel also enjoyed close diplomatic, economic and military relations before the 2008-2009 Israeli Cast Lead operation against Gaza’s terror groups and the 2010 Mavi Marmara incident, in which nine Turkish citizens were killed trying to break the Israeli naval blockade of Gaza.

Despite the reconciliation brokered by US President Barack Obama in March, ties have remained strained.

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